Robots could take half of jobs in Germany

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More than half of the jobs currently being done in Germany could be taken over by robots in the next 20 years, according to a think-tank.

The study from Brussels think-tank Bruegel found 51 percent of jobs in Germany at the moment could be computerized and left to robots in the next two decades.

European countries most at risk from this computerization were Romania (62 percent) and Italy, Poland, Bulgaria and Greece - all 56 percent.

The exact affect this could have on unemployment rates is unclear because as technology takes over, new jobs are created, meaning those who lose their work to robots will not necessarily become unemployed.

“Technology is likely to dramatically reshape labour markets in the long run and to cause reallocations in the types of skills that the workers of tomorrow will need," Jeremy Bowles of Bruegel wrote about his study last week. "To mitigate the risks of this reallocation it is important for our educational system to adapt."

The study calculated how at risk jobs were of computerization by identifying three things which hinder robots potentially taking over the job – creative intelligence, social intelligence and perception and manipulation tasks.

Telemarketers, clerks, referees and credit analysts were among the jobs most likely to be taken over by robots, while those least at risk included recreational therapists, social workers and doctors.

The Bruegel think-tank took this data from the 2013 study which was based on USA employment figures and applied it to Europe to find out how at risk European countries were.

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On the whole, jobs in northern European economies were least at risk of computerization, while those in the south and east were most susceptible.